Gethsemane Lutheran Church

On Friday, August 21, the Church Council for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voted to “commit itself to finding a way for people in...publicly accountable lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships to serve as rostered leaders of the church.” This was a big deal: while there were already ELCA congregations served by clergy in same-sex partnered relationships, this amounted to an official declaration that, in the words of Gethsemane pastor Gloria Espeseth, “the church has moved” on the issue of homosexuality. “I think people in the pews are no longer willing to use pejorative labels for people they know who are gay and lesbian.” [+more]